5 A letter in a cherry tree

(The Next Day, Logan’s POV)

A knock a the door woke me up. What I hated more than the knocking, was the giggling. Why are the servants in this house so fangirlish? I sighed. I knew she was expecting me to come out shirtless or something, but too bad. I put on a white button-up shirt and black pants. I opened the door and gave an annoyed look. It was Ami...again.

“Good morning Elwood-sama.”

“Hn”

“I just came to let you know that the slaves have been assigned their duties”

“Very well, is that all?” I really wanted her to leave, her presence was more annoying than Alana.

“Have a good day Ellwood-sama.”

I nodded and motioned her to leave.

I closed the door and gave a sigh. Thoughts of last night came to mind. The taste of her blood never left even as I slept. The pink-haired slave appeared in my mind. From what I remember, she looked pretty good. Though, I never learned her name. Oh well. I was about to step out when I heard singing. I followed the song, and I heard it was coming from outside.

I walked to the window and looked out. I was about to open it to listen to the song when I saw a bit of pink. It was her, that slave and she was singing. I opened the window to listen more closely. The song, I think I’ve heard it before, though I don’t know where. The air had her scent in it, but the sound of her singing eased my instincts and my thirst. It almost as if she was calming me down with her voice. I closed my eyes and breathed in.

The air was filled with the smell of blossoms. I gave a small smile. How this girl could have this effect on me is beyond my knowledge, but I think I might like it. I opened my eyes to look at her once more. As I looked closer, I saw she was hurt. My vampire instincts began to burn with anger. She had lashes on her legs and one on her face. I gave a low growl and turned away to calm down a bit.

I shouldn’t be getting so worked up over a girl I don’t even know, especially a slave. I breathed in once more, and I noticed her scent was gone, and the singing had stopped. I opened my eyes and turned to where she was or where she had been. The pink-haired girl was nowhere in sight.

“Hn” I looked at where she had been. Curse her and her blood. Curse her for having this effect on me.

I slammed the window shut and left to begin today’s work.

(The Ellwood Manor Erika’s POV)

The following morning was kinda painful. I woke up sore from where I was cut last night. And to make things worse, that Ami girl came to wake us up, and I swear I’m now a bit deaf. We were given milk and bread as our breakfast which we had to eat on the way to our work areas. They lined us up and assigned us to different parts of the Mansion. Synthai was put to work with the animals. I think she was happy about that since she loves anything cute and furry. As for me, I was put to work in the gardens, which was perfect for me. I got to be outside, and I love flowers.

All I had to do was water the plants and tend to them. As soon as they dismissed us, I quickly ran to my work site. It was beautiful. There were many kinds of flowers both common and exotic. After a bit of looking, I began watering the plants. I put fresh soil and I even sang to them. I sang the only song I’ve always known, though I don’t know how I know it.

Tending the plants was a bit hard for me since I wasn’t able to heal myself this morning. I tried, but only a small amount of my healing power came out so I didn’t fully heal myself. The cuts were bleeding again but I ignored them as well as the pain. I guess I would have to let them heal on their own.

As I was working I heard someone growl. I turned and saw Master Logan right in front of his window. He was looking away. It seemed he was angry at something. I quickly turned pink as I remembered how our last meeting went. Oh no that’s right my towel fell! Is that why he’s so angry? Ugh! It’s none of my business why he’s mad! I don’t care.

I gave a sigh and quietly went to the other side of the gardens to finish my work.

(3rd person POV)

Erika walked through the gardens trying to find anything else to work on. “Hmmm, it’s almost lunchtime”. The servants had given them a bag with fruit, bread, and milk. When she found nothing else to work on, she decided to eat. Finding a place to sit was complicated. Everywhere she looked there was no suitable place to eat. Giving up, she sat down on the floor. “Oh well, I guess I’ll just eat here.”

She was about to bite into her bread when she saw a small path leading somewhere. It was hidden by the grass, but she noticed it. Being as curious as she was, she followed it. The path seemed to lead her somewhere away from the garden. “I don’t think even the Masters know about this place .” she Backyard to herself as she entered some tunnels. When she reached the end her eyes widened. She was right in front of a huge cherry blossom tree. It seemed to be there for centuries. The roots were big and popped out of the ground in waves. She walked over and sat by its trunk. She looked up and saw how the top of the tree extended far out shading most of the land around her. She felt so comfy.

She sighed happily and ate her lunch. There was still time to look around since her meal wasn’t much and she quickly ate it. Standing up she decided to have a look around. She discovered a small pond with fish and she found some rare flowers that weren’t in the garden. There was also spring from where she could drink water. Her eyes closed as her ears picked up the sounds around her. She felt around the tree but yelped as she fell when part of the tree trunk seemed to be missing.

She opened her eyes and gasped. Part of the tree was hollowed out. The opening seemed big enough for her to go through. She closed her eyes and went in, hoping there was nothing in there. It was dark, but she could make out some things.

The inside of the tree seemed to go on. She noticed some shelves that were carved out, and old candles that seemed to be there forever. “Oh, if only I had some matches or fire.” As if her request was answered, she saw some matches on one of the shelves. Dusting them off and clearing some webs, she lit one match and one of the candles. Once she lit the candle, a domino effect occurred and many others were lit and laminated the inside.

Erika gasped and looked around. There was a wooden trunk at the far end, but it was locked. Across from the box, was a very peculiar flower. She moved a bit closer to see it better. It was a strange flower indeed. It seemed to be a combination of a black rose, with a pink cherry blossom all in one, but part of it seemed to be dying. She grabbed water from the spring hoping it would revive the other half. She stood up and looked at the walls. Vines surrounded the flower and expanded all over the inside of the tree, except half of the vines were dying just like the flower. She sighed hoping it would be ok. Erika noticed that two of the shortest vines mad a shape. They seemed to both curve upwards and meet in the middle, forming a heart.

She went closer to the shape and saw what looked like two names, but they were both scratched out. “I wonder who they were.”

She ran her fingers on the names and the two vines. She felt tears begin to form and felt one fall from her face. She failed to notice that it fell right on the flower.

“Why am I crying?” She cleaned her tears and gasped.

“Oh no lunch is over, I’d better get back.” So she put out the candle and once again the domino effect blew out the candles and left the tree dark once more. Erika quietly made herself back to the gardens and to the Ellwood grounds, smiling happily to herself. She had a place of her own now, her own secret place, and she would tell no one.

Back at the tree, however, the dying half of the vines became green and bloomed with cherry blossoms and black roses. The flower became revived as well and looked healthy. The strangest thing of all though was one of the names in the heart. It was no longer scratched out. The letters were clearly visible and very legible. The name read ”Erika”.